Fostering a love of stories in a child’s first years is key to lifelong reading

By Elaine Reese

Childrens literacy rates are falling around the globe. In response, a number of governments, including New Zealands, are overhauling the way reading is taught in primary school. One key change is a renewed focus on...

Ontario’s closure of youth detention facilities has not resulted in more support for young people

By Jessica Evans Et Al

The Ontario government said it would save $40 million per year by closing 26 youth detention centres in 2021, with promises to use those savings to support community services for youth. Framed as a cost-savings strategy...

Where do we stash the equivalent of 110 Sydney harbour bridges? That’s the conundrum Australia faces as oil and gas rigs close

By Darryn Snell Et Al

Oil and gas wells are dotted off Australias shores. They involve huge steel structures fixed firmly to the sea floor, and thousands of kilometres of pipelines. Most of Australias offshore oil and gas projects will be...

Humanity needs more rare earth elements. Extinct volcanoes could be a rich new source

By Michael Anenburg

Extinct volcanoes are hard to study we never see them erupt. Using a unique experimental technique, we were able to recreate a certain type of extinct volcano in a lab, learning more about the magma these volcanoes...

AI is fuelling a deepfake porn crisis in South Korea

By Sungshin (Luna) Bae

Its difficult to talk about artificial intelligence without talking about deepfake porn a harmful AI byproduct that has been used to target everyone from Taylor Swift to Australian school girls. But a recent report...

The design tricks keeping your kids hooked on games and apps – and 3 things you can do about it

By Chris Zomer Et Al

Ever found yourself unable to resist checking out a social media notification? Or sending a random picture just to keep a Snapchat streak going? Or simply getting stuck staring at YouTube because it auto-played yet another...

Dutton’s nuclear plan would mean propping up coal for at least 12 more years – and we don’t know what it would cost

By Alison Reeve

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has revealed the Coalitions nuclear energy plan relies on many of Australias coal-fired power stations running for at least another 12 years far beyond the time frame officials expect the...

NZ’s government plans to lift a ban on gene tech outside the lab – here’s what people think

By Marie McEntee Et Al

The governments recently announced plan to end New Zealands effective ban on the use of gene technologies outside the laboratory has reignited debate about this historically contested topic. While the government aims to...

Lebanese civilians are fleeing the south, fearing an Israeli invasion − a look back at 1982 suggests they have every reason to worry

By Mireille Rebeiz

Lebanese families have been fleeing the countrys south in the thousands amid escalating tensions and an Israeli bombardment that has so far killed hundreds. Their fear, echoed by many onlookers, is that Israel will...

Hockey in Canada: Can it still bridge divides in an era of political polarization?

By Joseph Dick Et Al

Hockey has played a significant role in shaping Canadas culture and identity over the years. As sport scholar Tony Patoine once put it, hockey has become more than a simple pasttime: it is a true Canadian tradition, a...

How ice, trees, coral and sediments help us reconstruct 2.6 million years of climate history: an introduction to paleoclimatology

By Armand Hernández Et Al

Todays climate change is man-made. The consensus in the climate science community is unequivocal, but in order to determine just how exceptional current climate change is, we have had to contextualise the present on a much...

Sales jobs make people neurotic, but employers can protect workers’ health – just look at the construction industry

By Selma Kadic-Maglajlic

Neuroticism is one of the Big Five personality traits, characterised by a tendency to experience negative emotions like anxiety, fear, and frustration. Individuals with high levels of neuroticism are often more sensitive...

‘Russians at War’ documentary: From the Crimean to the Iraq War, soldier images pose questions about propaganda

By Martin Danahay

Questions surrounding the film Russians at War linger following controversy surrounding it at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). TIFF faced protesters at a Sept. 17 screening of the first person documentary...

Exploding pagers and walkie-talkies are a reminder of how easily your devices can be hacked – here’s how to make sure they are safe

By Nick Hajli

The recent attacks on walkie-talkies and pagers in Lebanon have highlighted the hidden vulnerabilities in everyday technology. These incidents underscore the need for individuals to understand the potential risks...

Ludwig: in this comic BBC detective drama, puzzles are key to solving a murder – and understanding other people

By Deborah Klika/Klikova

It makes no sense. Its impossible to solve so decries John Ludwig Taylor (David Mitchell) when trying to solve a murder using puzzle techniques in the new six-part BBC detective series, Ludwig. Each week puzzle...

Why home insurance rates are rising so fast across the US – climate change plays a big role

By Andrew J. Hoffman

Millions of Americans have been watching with growing alarm as their homeowners insurance premiums rise and their coverage shrinks. Nationwide, premiums rose 34% between 2017 and 2023, and they continued to rise in 2024...

On the US-Mexico border, the records of Trump and Harris reflect the national mood of less immigration, not more

By William McCorkle

In late July 2024, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris released a campaign ad about the U.S.-Mexico border that resembled something out of the Republican playbook. In the ad, Harris said as president she would...

A brief history of former presidents running for reelection: 3 losses, 1 win and 1 still TBD

By Graeme Mack

This years presidential election has a former president, Donald Trump, running for a nonconsecutive term. Its the fifth time in U.S. history thats happened. Historically, a former president running for a nonconsecutive...

Customers like diversity from brands − but can smell hypocrisy a mile away

By Pankhuri Malhotra

Companies are increasingly highlighting their support for diversity, but that can backfire if consumers sense tokenism, a recent analysis from my team found. Im an assistant professor of marketing who specializes in...

How to archive your photos in the digital age

By Wasim Ahmad

Taking photographs used to be a careful, conscious act. Photos were selective, frozen moments in time carefully archived in albums and frames. Now, taking a photograph is almost as effortless and common as breathing its...

Egypt’s fears about Ethiopia’s mega-dam haven’t come to pass: moving on from historical concerns would benefit the whole region

By Mike Muller

A new round of angry exchanges has broken out between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). On September 1, Cairo wrote to the UN security council to protest against Ethiopias continued...

Ancient DNA helped us uncover the Iberian lynx’s potential secret weapon against extinction

By Johanna L.A. Paijmans Et Al

Many large mammals have lost genetic diversity, often thanks to the actions of people shrinking their populations. The implications can be severe because without genetic diversity, a population does not have a genetic...

How did they get my data? I uncovered the hidden web of networks behind telemarketers

By Priya Dev

Last year, I started getting a lot of unsolicited phone calls, mainly from people trying to sell me things. This came as a surprise because, as a data scientist, I am very careful about what personal information I let out...

Africa is the world’s largest market for Guinness beer

By Jordanna Matlon

Africa is the worlds largest market for Guinness beer (and Nigeria is second only to Britain for the most consumers in one country). The Irish brands success on the continent is regarded as a trailblazing business model....

How a new map of the UK’s blue carbon habitats could change how oceans are protected

By Michael Burrows

The worlds oceans are home to different habitats that capture and store carbon known as blue carbon. These include habitats that are typically found along coastlines, such as salt marshes and seagrasses, as well as vast...

Unemployment of 4.2% is a sign of RBA success, but it might not last. Here’s why

By Jeff Borland

Todays news that an extra 47,500 Australians found work in August while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2% is a sign of success for both the government and Reserve Bank. Its a sign of success in dealing with the...

Fed slashes rates by a half-point – what that means for presidential election

By Michael Walden

In a widely anticipated move, the Federal Reserve announced on Sept. 18, 2024, that it was cutting its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to a range of 4.75% to 5% the first time the cost of borrowing has...

Invasive species are reshaping aquatic ecosystems, one lake at a time

By Anthony Ricciardi

Freshwater ecosystems in Canada and around the world are under siege. Lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands face many environmental threats, but one that is changing them most rapidly is the spread of invasive non-native...

Even the heaviest particles experience the usual quantum weirdness, new experiment shows

By Bruce Yabsley

One of the most surprising predictions of physics is entanglement, a phenomenon where objects can be some distance apart but still linked together. The best-known examples of entanglement involve tiny chunks of light...

Instagram has announced it will be removing beauty filters – but the damage is done

By Lauren A. Miller

Meta has announced third-party augmented reality (AR) filters will no longer be available on its apps as of January 2025. This means more than two million user-made filters offered across WhatsApp, Facebook and, most...

AI is working its way into smartphones, but some tools could be subverted for misinformation

By José Parra-Moyano

Artificial intelligence (AI) has already transformed how we work and communicate. Now, its making its way into our pockets. Apple launched its iPhone 16 on September 9 2024 and Google revealed its Pixel 9 smartphones on...

How universities can unlock their entrepreneurial potential

By Valérie Mérindol Et Al

Universities do more than just teach and conduct research theyre where some of the most audacious ideas are ignited, eventually finding their way into the private sector and our everyday lives. Take Stanford and UC...

Lithium mining in Zimbabwe: a story of loss for one community

By Joshua Matanzima

Lithium is an essential component of electric vehicle batteries, which are becoming more important as the world moves to a low-carbon energy future. Large deposits of lithium exist in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia,...

To American revolutionaries, patriotism meant fair dealing with one another

By Barbara Clark Smith

When modern Americans call themselves patriots, they are evoking a sentiment that is 250 years old. In September 1774, nearly two years before the Declaration of Independence, delegates from 12 of the 13 Colonies...

Young professionals are struggling to socially adapt in the workplace – educators can help

By Lee Ann Rawlins Williams

Despite ongoing worries about how artificial intelligence will affect jobs, research shows that employers increasingly value something that only human workers can provide soft skills. These include knowing how to...

Why Pennsylvania is the key to a Harris or Trump Electoral College victory

By Alauna Safarpour

With less than two months until Election Day, Pennsylvania has emerged as the keystone state in each partys plan to win the White House. The Pennsylvania focus is so great that the firm AdImpact, which tracks political...

Health care under Harris versus Trump: A public health historian sizes up their records

By Zachary W. Schulz

Health care is a defining issue in the 2024 election Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican contender Donald Trump have starkly different records on the issue. Rather than focusing on what they...

Lost in translation: What spirituality and Einstein’s theory of time have to do with misunderstandings about climate change

By Miki Mori

As a child growing up in the early 1990s, I remember learning in school about the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels traps heat near the Earths surface, like the glass of a greenhouse. I...

Denver’s experiment in providing a soft landing for newly arrived migrants and asylum-seekers isn’t cheap – but doing nothing might cost more

By Anita Alves Pena

The burden of supporting asylum-seekers with food and housing often falls to cities, creating severe budget crunches. But Denver is piloting a new approach designed to integrate immigrants into the workforce faster. The...

Why holding kids back fails − and what to do about it

By Laura Link Et Al

For decades, schools have allowed children to advance to the next grade even when theyre not reading at grade level. But more and more states are adopting policies to hold students back if they fail standardized tests in...

Tiny robots and AI algorithms could help to craft material solutions for cleaner environments

By Mahshid Ahmadi

Many human activities release pollutants into the air, water and soil. These harmful chemicals threaten the health of both people and the ecosystem. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution causes an...

Strictly: three ways the show can make things better for all dancers

By Kathryn Stamp Et Al

With a new series of Strictly Come Dancing just getting started on BBC1, much of the media build-up to this years show has focused on reports of threatening and abusive rehearsal room behaviour by two professional dancers...

Operating on the wrong body part – what can be done to prevent it?

By Adam Taylor2

A 70-year-old man from Alabama recently died at a hospital in Florida when a surgeon mistakenly removed his liver instead of his spleen. This type of medical error is known as a never event because it should never have...

Kenya could run out of money to repay massive debts: how to avoid this

By Odongo Kodongo

Data from Kenyas central bank show that public debt (total money owed) declined between December 2023 and June 2024. The drop in external debt by 15.4 % over this period does not mean that the countrys overall...

View from The Hill: The Albanese government is feeling a lot of pain from pincers

By Michelle Grattan

When a leader is on the back foot, small things are telling. On Monday, Anthony Albanese, who leaves on Thursday for a meeting of the Quad comprising leaders of the United States, India, Japan and Australia in Joe...

Rupert Murdoch’s real-life succession drama is underway in a Nevada courtroom. What might happen next?

By Rodney Tiffen

A unique court case is getting under way in Nevada this week. At stake is the future of the Murdoch empire. The case, which begins on September 17 local time, is scheduled to run (in secret) for two weeks, and sometime...

Google is worth more in Australia than major news outlets. Here’s how it could better fund journalism

By Rob Nicholls Et Al

The Global Media Internet Concentration Project examines the concentration of the communications and media in countries around the world. The latest data for Australia have recently been released, and they show just how...

The power of one: solitary carnivores outkill group hunters

By Luke Emerson Et Al

Earths majestic apex predators are some of the most prolific hunters in the world. But which ones kill the most? Our new research showed solitary hunters such as bears, tigers and Eurasian lynx have higher individual...

China says AUKUS is ‘driven by Cold War thinking’. Here are 3 reasons it is so threatened by the pact

By Benjamin Herscovitch

Ever since AUKUS public announcement three years ago, China has been staunchly opposed to the partnership. Beijing has blasted AUKUS diplomatically and mounted a concerted campaign to challenge its legality. China...

Have you heard of the open source internet? The antidote to a capitalist web already exists

By Dana McKay

In the early days of the internet, famously, no one knew if you were a dog. The internet was a place where you could be anyone. More importantly, it was also a place where you could find anything: that rare book, or the...